Automatic train-controlling system.



Y P. D..sH1NDEL. momma TRAIN ooNTRoLLmG SYSTEM. A

APPLIOLTION YILED PEB. 16, 1911.

v PatentedSept. 3,1912.

A .A 4 SHEETS-81111111' 1.

Zig-f.,

WM MM TTR/VEYS P. D. .SHINDBL AUTOMATIC TRAIN GONTBQLLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1911..

Patented Sept. 3,1912.

WITNESSES y f ATTHNEYS P, D. SHINDBL. l AUTOMATIC TRAIN GONTROLLING SYSTEM.

Patented sept. 3,191.2.4

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

- APPLICATION FILED FBBJS, 19111.

I'. D. SHINDEL. AUTOMATIC TRAIN coNTBoLLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION HLBDFBB. 16, 1911.

1,037,673. Patented sept.3,1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTOI? ATTORNEYS 35. is occupied. A To provide ,for 'rendering j the .controller l'certain and4 positive in its general .use upon railways,

umani: DTLLEY sHINDEL, or HUNTINGDON, PENNsYLvaNIA.

Specification of Letters Patent;I Application med February 16, 1911.

i AUTOMATIC TRAIN-COTROLLING SYSTEM.

serial No.' 608,949.

l To all whom t may concern.'

Be, it known that I, FRANK DILLEY Stimmen a citizen of the United States, and af residen-t` of Huntingdon,

j in the county of Huntingdon and State ofv Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Train-Controlling System,I of lwhich the following is a full, clear, and eXact -de scription.

My invention relates tol automatic car controlling systems, and embodies more particularly an electrically' operated system of this general type, so ,arranged as to automatically stop .any lcar attempting to enter a block already occupied by another car.

My invention comprehends a system for buty specially adapted for single-track roads, upon which diiferent cars travel in the same or in opposite. directions. j I

Among the many purposes of my invention are the following: I. To provide a number of successive blocks, and to locate in each Ablock a controller,`hereinafter designated as a .block "controller, and suitable circuits wherebysaid controller'is electricallyo'perated -by aid of a carentering the block, and when so operated serving to cut ofi3 the power of l,any other car attempting, for the time being, to enter thesame block from either end thereof. II. To-provide for ,lockingr said'controller, after its actuation by a car moving into the block, so as to prevent the subsequent disturbance of the controller by any othervcar while the block action. IV. To-provide electric mechanism l to vbecarried by a car yand-undercontrol of the motorman for enabling him, when. his

car enters 'a block yotherwise vacant, to as-A sistA the lcontrollerv making its initial movement for the protection of the block.

V. To provide a speclal construction of con-V a new arrangement of electric trollcr and circuits associated with said, ,c0ntroller,.for furthering the above-mentioned objects.

While my invention m/ay be practisedin various ways, `and by means of numerous electrical"arrangements and mechanical de#l vices.I prefer, for the sake of conciseness, to -descr1be and' illustrate Vmerely onel preferred Yform of apparatus, this\being suiiicient to enderclear the principles volved.

Reference to be hadto the accompanyiron or. other magnetic material, and-,piv allymountedL These pawls are adapted Patentea'sept.' 3,1912.

similar characters'fof ref.

this view showing the oo ntroller in its normalfposition of inactivityy'5 andv lvarious other parts 1n correspondingpositions; Fig.4 2 1s a diagram 'somewhat similar to Figfl, andfi'ndicating the condi'- t'ionof the controller and various other devices as-they appear .when-,the block is occupied by a car moving in from the right; Fig.- 3 is a diagram indicating the condition of the controller and various parts as they appear when the block is-occupied by a vcar moving into it from the left; Fig 4 1s a'der tail, partly'in elevation and partly 'diagrammatic, showing' the mechanism carried by a car' and under control of the motor'man; and F ig. 5 is 'a section on the line -5 5 .of

vFigpl, looking ,in the direction of the arrow, and showing details. of the controller.

` I will rst describe the block controller,

.and various otherA mechanical parts:

A rocklng arel respectively connected. Two rods .9, 10

are by aid oflmuckle joints 11, 12 conv-fy 'nected with the two pitmn; The rods 9, '10",' areby -aid of jointsll, 12 'connected'withl` shorter rods 1,3', '14, the latter being jour naled to two levers 1'5, 16. These levers' are' supported upon stationarybearin'gs 17, 18,

upon which they are adaptedto rock.. The

,levers 15,116 are made ofy soft,` iron, fandf shaft '6 'is 'disposed horizon-'I tally, and provided with acrank 6a extend- `ing upwardly from it.

This crank carries'v 4a'crank pin 7a, to whichtwo pit-men 7, 8,'y

serve as armatures for the adjacent mag-j` nets 19, 20, 21, 22, as. hereinafter described.;

Mounted rigidly upon one end of shaft 6 is adisk 23, to Awhich" is tirmly'fsel-,`

cured va plate '24, having ,generally the:

form of afsector andk hereinafter designated,` I i as a locking plate. Adjacent-.to ing plate are two pawls 25, 26, made ofsoft rock, and serve asarmaturesl for twovfre tensile springs 29, 30, areprovided for resprings `the armatures, at their inner the lock@ i are normally, pressedl against the loc'king plate 24, so that whenever the shaft 6 is rocked .in either of two directions from its normal position, it is locked in anew yposition by one or the other of the two armatures. This is because the particular armature aliected, by slipping oill the locking plate 24, lodges directly against the disk 23 and thus acts as a. pawl and temporarily prevents .the return'of the locking plate to its normal position. f i

.Mounted rigidly upon .the shaft 6 are a number of sector plates 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, made of insulating material. ,These sector plates are severally provided vWith-metallic sectors, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 ,43, 49, 50, 39, 40, 41a, 42a. Spring contact fingers, adaptedA to l,be engaged and disengaged by t-hese sectors respectively, as the latter are moved by .the rocking of the shaft 6, are provided. and are herein designated as :51, v-5-2, 5e, .54,155,56, 57, 5s, v59, so, 61, 62,`63,-.64,65,and 66. Connecting pins 67, 68,. 69"jestablish .electrical intercommunica; tion between the sectors 43,44, 45, 46 and practically connect them together.. Similarly, connecting pins 70, 71, 72 `connect up all four of the sectors 47, 48 49, 50; a connecting pin 7 3 connects thesector 39a with the 'sector 40a, and another connecting pin '-7 4 extends. v-tor 428.

.from the sector 41a to the sec- At 77, 7s', 79 are th'ree'secaons of the 1in@ wire, representing practically three blocks or parts thereof, and arranged to supply f currentto'cars moving from left to right according toligs.` 1, l2, and 3.

. At- 80, 81 are two short sections `for the purpose -of supplyingcurrent momentarily,

as'hereinafter described, for the protection .o ,a'car' occupying. the block.

'Af number of insulators 82, 83, 84, and are used for separating and' insulating from each other the various sections of line wire just", mentioned.

Connected with the contact springs 51, 52 are wires 86, 87, and connectedvwith the wire 87 are two wires 88, 89. The wire 89 leads to Ithe contact spring 55. Connected 'withthe contact spring 53 is a Wire 90,

whihy communicates with a fuse 91, and

from the latter a wire 92 extends to lthe releasing magnet 27. 4From the latter a .wire 93 extends to the wire 86, and both these -wires are connected with a wire 94, by aid whereof thereleasing magnet 27 may be energized. Connected with the wirev and fuse '91 is a kwire 95. Connected with the latter is a .wire 96 which leads to the short section-80 of the line wire. Connected with vthe wires 95,l 96 is a fuse 97,'and from the same -a wire 98 leads to the magnet 22. A wire 99 isv also connectedwith this magnet. Connected with the wires 90, 95 and the fuse' 91' is a .wire 100, which leads to a fuse nomma 101, the latter being connected by a' wire 102 with the magnet 21. A wire 103 is also cony l'nested with this magnet. A Wire 104 is c011- nec'ted to the contact spring 54, and also with the wire 99v and a wire 105, the latter leading to a relay magnet 106. yA Wire 107 is also connected with this magnet, and is used in energizing it, as lhereinafter explained.

The magnet 106 has a movable armature 108 which is retracted by aid of a spring 109, the tension of this spring being edw justable byL aid of an adjusting screw 11.0. The armature 108 carries an insulated contact member 111, which is adapted to engage and disengage two stationary contact mem bers 112, 113.- The magnet 106 and its con tact mechanism constitutes a relay. The contat member 112 is connected With/ the wire' 103. Awire 114 leads from the con tact member 113 .to the contact linger 63.

Connected with the 'contact iinger 59 is a wire-115 which leads to a stationary com tact member 116. The latter, with another stationary contact member 117, is adapted to be .engaged andv disengaged by an insulatedco'ntact member 118 carried by and forming a part of a movable armature 119. A spring retracts this armature, the tension of the spring being controllable by an adjusting screw 121. Adjacent to the armature 119 is a magnet 122 for actuating it. Two wires 123, are connected to the magnet 122 for energizing it, as hereinu after explained. 'A wire 124 leads from the stationary contact memberv 117 to the'magnet 20.' v

Connected with the contact finger 56 is a wire 126, and a Wire 127 leads from the latter .to a fuse 128. A wire 129 connects this fuse to the magnet 20. A Wire 130 is c0nnected to both wires 126, 127, and to the releasing magnet 28. A fuse 132 is connected with the wire 131 and from this fuse a wire 133 leads to the magnet 19. A wire 134 is connected-with this magnet and with a Wire 135, which leads to the contact finger 57.

A Wire 136 leads from the contact finger 58 to a Wire 137, the latter leading to the v'la wire section 152. From the contact finger 65 a 4wire 142 leads to the line section 78. Wires 143, '144, vare connected with contact lingers 62, 66 and with each other, and also with a ground wire 145, which is earthed at 146. Connected with the line wire sections 77, 79, are wires 147, 148, and connected to the latter are Wires 149, 150.

' At 151, 152 and 153 Aare line sections for s p irighfiliio; e'ft v Ea'eh ofrthese 'insulators'.is' preferablyahot,

-(g'practically blocks orgcurrent to-.cars' traveling from aooordingto Figs. A1, 2 and 3.

all fof-'the .sections Just mentioned aiming A twelve orifteen incheslon' i used by .cars pas'singfinl both'directions.

Thefwires .149,- 150,

147,149 ae .feed wim fand 1by aid of the wires inactive or idle.

are connected Adirectly with thefeed wire... aid of' the wires n1- communication wi'th thesecti'ons 153, 77, i148, 0, the sections Mounted rigidl upon the undersideof the .shaft 6 (see ig. 5) 'and servingas a coxmte'rweight for the various'sector plates and* sectors .is aiheav-y 'block 1f61 of metal, having-generally ya sector-like form. A

.spring 162 is secured to this block,` for the ten ency of the .counterweightand springI is -t'o bring. thevshaft 6 .to -itsunormal position, to wit, thatin which Athe controller is By aid of an adjusting screw 163, which extends through' a stationary post 164,"the tension of the spring may be regulated at will, and its sensitiveness thereby governed within due limits.

At 1 65 isa pawlwhich is provided with an endportion 166 having generally a-cylindrijcal form. The counterweight is rolvided *with a semi-cylindrical slot 167 Into which "the cylindrical end portion of the 'crossing the general pawl is adapted to it. This stedies the shaft 6, and accurately defines vthe normal position thereof so that the shaft is not asity disturbed by any accidental cause. The pawl 165 is provided with a spring 168,

adjusting at will'the. tension of the spring `and consequent pressure of the pawl.

`At 170, (see- Fig. 4)is a car, which may be the motor car ofatraint` l Mounted upon it is a trolley fork 171, and journaled upon the latter is a trolley Apole 172. This trolley pole is bent sidewise,

direction of. the length .r of the car,- and carries a trolleywheel 173,

`which successively engages the-several sections of the line employed for cars travel'- ing. in one'direction. 3 The line -sections of two kinds, for cars parts. thereof) i y which 'extends-"com tmuously for an indefinite, distance along the l1ne, and which supplies all'of th'e-cu'r .u sual adapted for 160' is jalwaysdirectly 51, 79 are similarly in communication at.A 'all times, withthe 'feedl wire.

The main pur and spring is, ...to restore the shaft 6, and parts carried by that is, in a direction' traveling `in two directions, are all supported by cross arms, one of which is shownat 174- in Fig;y 4. Each cross arm is suppp'ted upon a post 175, by aid of a brace. each car' 170 is a Wire 1,77 which leads from the trolley pole-downwardly, and Ais connected with .a gwire177, `which leads to a car controller 178.' This controller is as 'y handling different quanthe will of tltiesof current at f- At 179 isfthefcar motor, and at 180 is a car wheel which, by virtue ofy its .en-gagement with the track, is grounded.

ing airb'ra'kes andstoppingfgthe car.. The train. pipe is provided with ay slug ish valve (preferably'a needleyalve) 182, n' slowl ventingthe train pipe and thus setting the brakes. The valve is provided with a needle or plunger, which .is mounted 'upon a movable core'183 and controllable by movements of the latter; The lower end of this core is of soft iron, and serves as an arn'lature for' a solenoid 184. A wire 185 leads from the controller 178 to the motor 179. A .wire '186 leads from the motor to awire 187, ich is grounded by aid'of. the car Wheel 180 as above sta-ted. A wire 188 .is con' nected with the wires 177, 17 78L and with the solenoid 184. A Wire 1.89is4 connectedv with the solenoid and with the two M.wires .186, 1.87. The -solenoid is `normally energized, and hence the valve is- I'iormal closed, so that the train pipe is closed-a the brakes normally stand released or unset. The'solenoid 184 is preferably of about 250 ohms resistance.

The lsolenoid .184 basca high resistance, about 250 olins, and is -in parallel with the car motor .whenever thecar co' troller isin the condition commonly designated. as ,Om so that currentis passing through the car motor, the resistance of" which is negligible by comparison. The parts are so proportioned and arrangedthat whenever t-he current supplied to the car is cut oiffrom the trolley wire which the trolley wheel happens to engage for the time being the sluggish valve opens and beginslto slowly vent the train fpipe. In the block controller the magnets 19,20, 21, 22-are each of high resistance, say 1000 Aohms; and themagnets 106 and 122 are each `Each reof loi/vl resistance, say tive ohms. leasing magnet 27, 28 is ofghigh resistance, preferably about .1,000rohms.

Thile the armature lever 16 is controlla.- ble by the two4 magnets '22. and 21, these `magnets do notbegin to act at the same time.

the motorxuan, 'and 1S P10V1ded wlth the customary legends On and 06" ,v

' A train 'pipe isshown'` at 181', for applyy y s's At the moment the-magnet 22 begins to dra-W, the 'magnet-:21m ,is idle,

.but when' the. Contact linger 5i .is engaged by the sector i `46, the.1nagnet 106 fully energized position, the crank.extendingdirectly'up-4 a little from its normal" position, and its leverage upon the shaft 6'is correspondingly shaft 6, in rocking' in one direction from-its" ,the action (if the magnet 22.

ward and capable of exerting greatleverage when pulled horizontally in consequence of pull takes place-'after the crank is displaced lessened. The magnet 21 continues to pull upon the armature leverl after themagnet 2,2'is short circuited. The motion of the normal position, is thus rendered positive and, certain. Similarly, torockthe shaft 6 in the opposite direction from its normal position, the magnet 19 first exerts its connecting pin 70, sector 48, contact fingerv power, and as the shaft is turned and the finger 57 is engaged by the sector 49 so thatv the magnet 122 attracts its armature' l19, the-1 magnet 30.is energized.

are in ,normal condition as indicated, that is to say -whenvno car is present-.each of the line .sections is in metallic .communication with the feed' wire 160, and is therefore ready to supplyl current as soon vas occasion requires. The conect'ion from'the feed Wire 160 to the short sections'154 is made upof wires 88 and 89, contact-finger 55, sector 47,

56,'wires 126, 180 and 1493. The connection from the feed wire 160 t the long section 152 is made up of the following parts: wire 88, Contact finger 52, sector 44', connection pin 68, sector 45,'contact finger 53, wires 90, 95, fuse 97, wireu 98, magnet 22, wires 99, 105, magnet 106 and wire 107. The short section 155 is connected with the feed wire by aid of the following parts: wire 88, contact finger'52, sector 44,- connecting pin 68,. sector 45, Contact finger 53, wire 90, fuse 91, wire 92, releasing magnet-27, and wires 93, 94. to section 155.- lrVheneVer the controlleris normal, rthe sector 43 is in engagement with the contact finger 51, and hence is in metallic communication,.through 'the wires 86 and 94, with the section 155. The short section 80 is in communication `.rith the feed wire 160, through.thefollow ing parts wire 88, contact finger 52, sector 44, oennecticnpin 68, sector 45, contact finger wires 90, 95 and'96. The long section78 is in communication with the feed Wire by aid of 'the .following parts: -Wires 88, v89, contact finger 55, sector 47, connecting pin 70, sector 48, contact finger 56, wires 126, 130,` fuse 132, wire 133, magnet 19,"wires '134, 123, magnet-'122 and wire 125. Communication from the feed wire 160 to the The Aharder When the various parts shown in Fig. 1'

vthe brakes from setting.

Loaf/,ova

47,- v coeoting pin 70,v sector 48, Contact,

l t 56,'wires 126 and"13,0, releasing mail' A 5s-,fiala 13e and 137., .o The operation 'ofmy system is as follows: 1 will supposefthat theblockcontroller dis in p its' normal, condition, as indicated in Fig.

V1, and that-a'mtoncan moving "from right to left :according to this figure, is approaching. .As `above explained, there-are practically twdtrolley wires for cars traveling 1n oppositer directions.- The approaching car vcarries a trolley wheel 173, as above described, 'and this trolley wheel is adapted to engage, in Vsuccessive order, the following parts: alive section 151 of right turnout,',

insulator'- 156, short sect-ion 154, insulator 157, long section, 152, insulator 158., shortl .sect-ion 155, insulator 159, and alive section 153 of left turnout. So longl as' the trolley wheel 173 engages t-he alive section 151 of- 'right turnout, the car is supplied with current by aidof the following circuitz" feed wire160, wireA 150, section y151, trolley wheel 1 73, trolley pole 172 (see Fig. 4), to

wire 177 whence the-current divides, nearly all of it passing `through wire 177 a, car con.-

ktroller 178, wire 185, car motor 179, and

Wire 186 to "Wire 187, while a negligible portion passes ythrough the. wire 188, ,solenoid 184"and wire 189 to wire 187.l From the wire 187 the current passes through the valve. The insulator 156, of course, breaks the current for an instant only, and consequently the solenoid 184 is denergized, but the insulator is quickly passed and the solenoid is again energized` the brake-valve being-closed before the car stops.' The trolley wheel next engages the short 'section 154, and completes the following circuit: feed Wire 160, wire88, wire 89, contact finger 55, sector 47, connecting pin 70, secr tor 48, Contact finger 56, wires 126., 130,.

1493, short section 154, trolley wheel 173, thence through the car, the rest of the circuit being the same as above ytraced with reference to Fig. 4. r:The trolley wheel 173 8,. and wires 138 and" 137. When the'. controller is' in normal condition,. the contact. csector 50 is-in met'allic'communication with, the `section 8 1- by' aid of the ,contact finger the resistance of which is about the next 'passes the insulator 157 and engages the ,long section 1 52, thus completing the following circuit: feed Wire 160, wire 88, Contact finger 52, sector'44, connecting pin 68, sector 4 5,-conta.ct finge i 95, fuse 97, wire 98, magnet 22,1 wires 99, 105, magnet 106, wire 107, section 152. trolley wheel 173, mechanism to feed wire16t). This circuit contains 'high resistance, due mainly to the magnet 22.

Because of this fact, the current following circuitjust traced is greatly curtailed. The car motor tends to slow down The solenoid 184 having a high resistance (about 250 ohms) and being in series withthe magnet .22 which has a--resistance of about l1,000 ohms, the currentpassing through this magnetand solenoid isiiotsufficient to energize either so as to bring it in'to action. The brake valve is 'consequently now open, and slightly. vents the train pipe. If the motormandoes nothing, t-he car'will stop. The motorman, however, notices. a slackening of the speed of the car and hears the hiss of the air now beginning to escape from the train pipe, and isthus apprised thathis car is enteringv the block now under consid-v eration. He thereupon grasps the handle of the controller carried by his car, and turns on the current through the car controller, so that the handle of the car con-- troller is brought adjacent to the legend On The resistance of the car motor being only a few ohms, more current is sentthrough the magnet 22, which nowactuat'es the armature lever 16 as above described, so that the shaft 6 is turned slightly, an additional circuit being follows: feed wire 160, wires 88, 87, contact finger 52, sector 44, connecting pin 68, sector 45, connecting pin 69, sector 46, contact finger 54 (now engaged by sector 46) Wires 104, 105, magnet 106,A wire 107, secti0n152,

trolley wheel 173, car mechanism shown in Fig. 4 to ground, thence to feed wire 160.

Just before the Contact sector engages. the contact finger 5.4, the several contact fingers .63, 64, 65, 66 are engaged by the respective sectors associated with them. Tt will ybe noted in this connection that when air be-V gins to escape .and thel motorman turns the car controller to the the moment, diminishes the-power ofy the solenoid .183. An instant later, however, owingto the increase in the motorcurren'tdue to the on position, the magnet 22 receives more current than before and thus becomes stronger so as to 'actuate the revoluble shaft 6 of the block controller, as above described. The operator, by'turning on the `current through the car motor as above devscribed will cause the controller shaft to rotate until the contactflnger 54 makescon- .tact'with'the sector 46 58, wire 90, wire shown in Fig. 4. toground, thence to power house and back- A1.00.0 ohms,-

'back to feed wire .proaching from ,grounded section 78. Hence thereby completed, as` iron?? Wheel engaging on7 position, he, for

-which short circuits the magnet 22, resulting ina heavy current 'passingthrough the magnet 106. This en;

ergizes'A the relay magnet, causing it to ati tract its armature 108 so that thecontact member 11,1, engages the contact members .112, 113. Another circuit is thus completedi as follows: feed wire, 160, wire. 88, .contact nger 52, sector 44, connecting pin 68, sector 45, contact finger 53, wires 90, 100, fuse 101, -Wire 102, magnet 21, wire 103, contact members 112, 111, 113, wire 114, contact finger 63, sector 39'a (now engaging same), connector pin 73, sector 40, contact finger 64, wire 139, line section 78, wire 142, Contact finger 65, sector 41, connecting pin 74, sector 42a, contact finger 66, wires 14'4, 145 to ground at 146, thence to power house and 160. v`The Acircuit just' traced performs two functions, to. wit, it grounds the line section 78 through a low resistance, and also energizes theV magnet 21. This magnet being thus energized, the shaft 6 is turned quickly and positively intoone ofits eXtreme positions. The block'conL troller and parts associated with it now ap- -pearas indicated' iti-Fig. 2. As the line secltion 78 is now grounded, as stated, through a circuit of low' resistance, and is one of the sections necessary to vbe used by the left turnout, according to Fig. 1, no such car can now. enter the.l block,vas itcan get no current from the there can be but one c ar in the block at a time, and for purposes of clearness'Iwill suppose, as before, that the car now occupying the. block is the one above described as moving in from' the right, and is still moving to the left, its the long section 152. If, now, a second car traveling in the same direction Vas the one already in the block should attempt to enter, it is unable todo so, as the section 154 is now dead, owing to the fact that thesector 48 isnow disengaged Y from its Contact finger-56. i

As the 'car already in the block continues its travel toward the left, its trolley Wheel 173 passes the insulator 158 and engages the short section 155, This-breaks the circuit through the magnet 106," and completes the following circuit: feed Wire-160, Wires 88, 87, contact finger 52, sector 44, connecting pin 68, sector 45, contact finger 53, wire A90, fuse 91, wire 92, magnet 27,' wire 94, short section 155, trolley wheel 173, car connections indicated in 'Fig 4 to ground, thence to power house and back to feed. wire 160. When thetrolley wheel passed under the insulator 158, just before reaching the section 155, the circuit including the brake valvesolenoid 184 was opened, and when the trolley wheel engages the section 155 the solenoid is in series .with the releasing magnet 27. Neither the slenoid non the releasing any car apiso magnet can get sufficient current, however,

to bring it into action. Hence, the' brake yalve opens the -train pipe. The operator upon the car now turns the handle of the car controller to the on position, so that the resistance within' the car is reduced to a few ohms, the releasing magnet 27 is strongly energized. It attracts its armature, which thereupon releases thelocking plate 24 and thus allows the shaft of the block cont-roller to resume its normal position. This being d0ne,`the section 155 is rendered alive by virtue of the following connections: feed wire 160, wire 88, contact finger 52, sector 44, connecting pin 67, sector 43, contact finger 51, wires 86, 94 to section 155. The energizing of the magnet 27 causes it to attract the adjacent portion of its armature pawl 25,.and this releases the locking plate '24. The shaft 6 is now free, and under inheating.

For a car traveling in the opposite directlon, that 1s fromle-ft to right, according to 'Figs 1, 2 and 3, the various operation: are quite, analogous to those above set forth, the current being supplied now byl aid of sections- .77, 80, 78, 81 and 79, acting vsuccessively. When the trolley wheel v173 of the car in question engages the short section 80,'a circuit is completed as follows: feed wire 160, wires 88, 87, contact finger 52, sector 44, connecting pin 68," sector 45, contact i finger 53, wires. 90, 95, 96 to short section 80,

thence to trolley wheel 173, through ear connections (seeFig. 4) to ground, thence to power house and back to feed wire 160. The short section thus supplies current to the car through a circuit of low resistance. The trolley wheel 173 next passes the insulator 83 and engages the long section 78, thus completing several circuits, having their lanalogues in those above associated with the -car Erst described, while its trolley was 1n engagement with the long section 152. One circuit thus completed by the engagement l of the trolley wheel with the 'long section 78 vis as follows: feed wire 160, wires 88, 89,

nso

Contact finger 55,v sector 47, connecting pin 70, sector 48, contact finger 56, wires 126, 130, .131, fuse 132, wire 133, magnet 19, wires 134,- 123, magnet 122, wire 125- to long section 78, trolley wheel' 173 (now engaging this section),car connections shown inFig. 4 to ground, thence to power` house and back to feed wire 160. This energizes magnet 1 9.

manera which starts the armature lever 15 into motion, and so begins to turn the controller shaft 6l to the left according to Fig. 3. )Vhen the sector 49 engages the contact finger 57, the sudden rush of current through the motor circuit of the car when the oontroller is On causes the magnet 122 to at'- tract its armature 119`and close the foliowing circuit: feed wire 160, wires 88, 89, contact finger 55, sector 47, connection pin 70, sector 48, contact linger 56, wires 126, 127, fuse'128, wire 129, magnet 20, wire 124, contact members 117, 1,18, 116, wire 115, contact finger 59, sector'39a, connecting pin 73, sector 40a, contact finger 60, wire 140, long section 152, wire 141, contact finger 61, sector 41a (now engaging Contact finger' 61), connecting pin 74, sector 42,'contact finger 62,

wires 143, 145 to' ground at 146, thence to power house and back to feed wire 160t This circuit performs two func-tions, to Wit,

it energizes the magnet 20, which thereupon pulls hard upon the armature lever .and thus moves the shaft 6 quickly and positively into its extreme position to the left, as indicated in Fig. 3; it also effectively grounds the long section 152 through a path of low resistance.. The grounding ofthe section 152 prevents the entrance 'of any car into vthe block fromthe opposite direction, that is entering at the right and moving toward the left according to Fig. 3, as any car attempting to do this would be dependent upon the section 152 for its current supply. The completion of the movement of the controller shaft 6, bringing the sector 49 into engagement with the contact finger 57, cuts out (2'. c. short circuits) the magnet 19 and consequently throws its resistance out of the circuit through the car motor, which now becomes traceable as follows: feed wire 160, wires 88, 89, contactfinger 55, sector 47', connectingpin 70, sector 48, connecting. pin 71, sector 49, contact finger' 57, wire 123,Y relay magnet 122, wire 125, long section78, trolley wheel 173, car connections shown in Fig. 4 tofground, thence to power house and back tov feed wire 160. The armature pawl 26, under control of the spring 30, moves partly into the path of travel vof the locking plate 24, as indicated in 3, and thus locks the controller so as t'o prevent the shaft 6 from turning to its normal position. Neither can a second car enter the block by aid of the short section 80. as this section is nowdead owing to the disconnection of the sector 45 from its,contact finger 53. Every-thing now remains as indicated in Eig. 3' until the 'car in the block reaches such a position that its trolley wheel 173 engages the Vshort section 81. This 'completes the following circuit: feed wire 160, wires 88,

pin 70, sector 48, contact finger 56,]wires 126, 1.33, releasing magnet 2 8, wire 137, short sec,-

.89, contact finger 5.5, lsector 47, connecting tion '81, trolley' Wheel 173, car connections shoWnin-Fig. il to ground, thence to povver house and back to feed vvire '160. This circuit, When the controller lof the car is On i". energizes the releasing magnet Q8, vvliich atf tracts the adjacentA portion of its armature .pavvl 26 -and releases the controller shaft.

-The latter'thereupon resumes its normal position as indicated in Fig. l. This done. thel sector 8l isrendered alive by aid of the following connections: feed vvire 160, wires 88.",89,[contact finger 55, sector 47, connecting 'pin 70, sector 4S, connectingpin Tl, sec- 49,- connecting pin .'59, Wires 136, 13.7 to section 81.

72, sector 50. finger As may be readily seen from the foregoing description, any car moving into the bloclt ft'rom either direction takes possession of the bloclgand no other car can enter, either by 'backing or otherwise: that when a c ar moves into. a block it locks the bloclccontroller; and thativhen it leaves the block it unlocks the block controller.

I do not limit myself to the precise details herein. shown. nor to this particular' arrangement of the circuits, nor to the use of my in- .yentionA upon Aa singletrack road, as various yclaim as new and .electro-magnet connected with said valve' `tain said valve closed.

and adapted when fully energized, to main a block controller 'disposed adjacent to the path of travel of saidcar and provided with contact mecha nism, said contact mechanism being controllable by movements of said block controller and being normally open, mechanism -includingan electro-magnet for ctuating said controller so' as to close said Contact mechanism, a circuit connected with said electro-magnets and energized by a current too Weak to render active said electro-niagnets, a car controller connected with said circuit and controllable from said car for diminishing the resistance of said circuit soV as to render the said second named electro' magnet active, and connections from said' contact mechanism of said block controllery around said controller-actuating electr, Amagnet for supplyingcurrent directly froml said block controller` to the electro-magneti carried by the car, so as to fully energize .the same when the said controller is actu-x ated by the said second rngnet.

The combination of la movable car, a train pipe carried thereby, a valve of small named electroadapted to open pose ot slowly venting said 'car and provided departing 1d train pipe. an'

-capacity connected with said train pipe and Y automatically for the pur# train pipe, an electro-magnet connected. with said valve and adapted, when fully cnergizechto maintain said valve closed, a bloclr controller disl id adjacent to the path `of trav I \vi th contact .n

elv oft said,Y

,charnsnn said. contact mechanism beingcontrollable by movements of said blo'cvl controlleivand being normally open, 'I an electro-magnet for artuating,saidconf` trollcr so as toclose said contact'mechaiiisnn, a circuit connected ivith said electro-unignets, means controllable from said ca r for circuit, in order to energize named electrosnuignet, t'rom said contact mechanisnr controller actuatingmagnet ther ii'icrc-asing the tlc-iv ot' said circuit, so as to fully named electro-magnet. .,m 3, 3. The con'ibination of a source oi current having a ground return', a conductor section for supplying current to a car traveling in one direction, a conductor section for supplying current to acar traveling in the opposite direction, a controller provided with circuit controlling contacts, a connection bementioned conductor secundy ,l t1

the.

tvveen said first tion and the ground, said connection including one of said contacts and being normally open thereat, electrically operated mechanism for turning said block controller into such position as to close .said connection, a connection from said source of current through ano-ther of said circuit controlling contacts and through said electrically operated mechanism to said second mentioned conductor section, and a movable car provided with an electrically operated motor and connections for establishing' temporary 'communication from said second mentioned conductor section through said motor to the ground whereby 4said electrically operated mechanism is energized. i

Ll. The combination of a source of current having a ground return, a conductor section for supplyingcurrent to a car traveling in one direction, a conductor section for supplying' current to a car traveling' in the opposite direction, a controller provided with circuit controlling contacts, a connec tion between said rstmentioned conductor section and the ground, said connection including one of said contacts and being normally open thereat, electrically operated mechanism for turning said block controller into such position as' to close said connection, a connection from said source oit current through another oi said circuit controlling contacts and througl'i said electrically operated mechanism to said second mentioned conductor section, a movable car v e v %v iechanism uicludmgu 30 increasing the tloiv ot current through said, the .Seremi-.fly and, connectn' provided with an electrically'operated motor, connections 'for establishing temporary communication from said second mentioned conductor` sectionthrough said motor tothe lground whereby said electrically operated tion for supplying current "t'o a car trayeling in one direction, a conductor section for sup plying current to a car traveling inithe op,

posite direction, a controller provided with circuit controlling contacts, a connection between said first mentioned conductor section and the ground, said connection including one of said contacts and being normally lopen therea-t, electrically operated mechanism for turning said block controller` neergezet into such position as to close said connection, a connection from said source of current through another of said circuit' controlling contacts' and through said electrically openatedmechanism to saidsecondv mentioned 'conductor section, a movable car provided with an 'electrically operated motor, connections for establishing temporary com munication from said second 'mentioned 'conductor section through said motor to the ground whereby said electrically operated mechanism is energized, a magnet included in said connections, a valve controllable by said magnet, and a train pipe mounted upon said car and operated byl said. valve.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK DILLE' SHNDEL.

Witnesses: p

y R. W. Jueces,

.META A. SHiNDEL. 

